Secrets and spies revealed on city tours
ASECRET railway station, the famous philanthropist who laid the Mitchell Library’s foundation story and THAT rumour about Charles Rennie Mackintosh being a spy are just some of the gems waiting to be discovered as walking tours resume after lockdown.
Like many local businesses, Walking Tours in Glasgow had to close down in March following the coronavirus outbreak.
Run by Glasgow University graduates Liv Barber and Jenny Benson, and aimed at encouraging locals to discover more about their city, they are now back up and running for private, single household, social- distanced walking tours for up to five people at a time.
The West End Tour is one of Jenny’s favourites, taking in local landmarks like the Botanic Gardens, the Hunterian Museum and the Mitchell Library.
“The Botanic Gardens opened in the early 19th century, which was a period of immense growth for Glasgow,” she explains.
“At the time, more green spaces and parks were opening to escape the smells of the city, so this was an important relaxing space.
“The deadly plants in the Kibble Palace are worth a visit – and look out for the disused railway station, once a thriving hub and still derelict, 50 years after a devastating fire.”
Jenny adds: “We also take in the Mitchell, where Andrew Carnegie
laid the foundation stone in 1907, and the Hunterian, which is the oldest museum in Scotland. It is home to the Mackintosh House, where we learn that during the First World War, the famous designer was actually accused of being a spy…”
According to research, Mackintosh was jailed for almost a week when he lived in Suffolk, because villagers found the his behaviour - and that of his wife - suspicious.
During one of his regular nighttime walks by the seashore near
his home, Mackintosh had trouble with a lantern, which his neighbours mistook for a signal to a German ship at sea.
They were also deeply mistrustful of Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh’s habit of taking long trips away from home.
Jenny and Liv came up with the idea for city walking tours at university while studying French and psychology respectively.
“It has been really popular and we are glad to be back,” says Jenny.